The Perfect Way to Get Rid of Invasive Species—Eat Them

The lionfish, from the Indian Ocean and South Pacific, is invading Caribbean and Florida waters and muscling out other species. But PM Resident Contrarian Glenn Reynolds has found the secret that will be the lionfish's undoing. It's delicious.

In the 21st century we face all sorts of problems: environmental, economic, political and military. But sometimes a little creative thinking can turn a problem into an opportunity.

One big problem—brought on by the expansion in global trade and travel that transplants people and other creatures willy-nilly around the world—is the rise in invasive species. These species, from Asian carp to kudzu, may fit nicely in their original ecological niches, but transplanted to a new place where they have no established predators, they can explode in number, crowding out valuable critters and plants and ruining things for people.

Lots of responses have been tried, such as hunting, spraying or bringing in new predators to exterminate the newcomers. Sometimes the efforts work, but often they don't. Occasionally they make matters worse by adding a new problem species.

But what if instead of importing predators, we became the predators? Hungry humans wiped out the passenger pigeon and turned Chilean sea bass into a scarce commodity. Can we do the same with unwanted intruders? That's what dive masters and underwater explorers are trying to do with one of the Western Hemisphere's nastiest invaders, the lionfish.

Lionfish are native to the Indian Ocean and South Pacific. They first appeared in noticeable numbers in Caribbean and Florida waters around 2000 and have expanded rapidly since. They occupy valuable reef niches and can compete other fish out of existence.

Probably because lionfish look strange and respond aggressively when approached—flaring their poisonous spines to look bigger and fiercer—potential predators leave them alone. They don't look like familiar food, and they do look like trouble.

Dive masters throughout the Caribbean are trying to remedy this by spearing lionfish and feeding them to sharks and groupers, to teach them something important about lionfish that isn't apparent to the naked (fish) eye: They're delicious.

It may be starting to work. On a recent trip to the Cayman Islands, I accompanied dive operators Nat Robb and Art Hintze of Indepth Watersports on a number of lionfish hunts. Using a three-pronged spear, they impaled lionfish, snipped off the spines and fed them to groupers. On many occasions, the groupers snatched them off the spear and gulped them down before the spines were even removed—the spines can inflict a painful sting on people, but these fish didn't seem to mind—demonstrating that they'd learned from prior observation that lionfish make a tasty snack. In fact, at one dive site, groupers began clustering and following us as soon as they saw the spear, as though it were an underwater dinner bell.

Will the groupers start hunting lionfish on their own? Let's hope so. Even fish are capable of learning, when there's a meal to be had.

But people learn faster. Back on the boat, I snacked on lionfish sashimi prepared carpaccio-style with lime juice, olive oil and capers—and it was very good. Cooked, the flesh tastes like something between Chilean sea bass and lobster. It's good grilled, fried or jerked. (Lionfish tails even resemble lobster tails.)

Restaurants on the Caymans are beginning to serve lionfish, and if the trend catches on, human gourmets may do for lionfish what they've already done for numerous other edible marine creatures, generating sufficient demand to drive the species' numbers way, way down.

Some people are taking this approach further. Jackson Landers, author of the Locavore Hunter blog, is a big fan of eating lionfish, saying, "It's like Chilean sea bass without the guilt." Landers has also feasted on invading European green crabs, nutria, Asian carp—he's working with Louisiana chef Philippe Parola on a plan to turn that creature into delicious mass-marketed meals—and even armadillo. (Fears of leprosy, he says, are grossly exaggerated.)

I asked Landers if it was important to get restaurants involved in serving invasive species, and he said yes: Putting the critters on menus lends "a lot of legitimacy" to the idea of them as food. Stock grocery shelves with them and instead of an expensive eradication program, we've got a self-financing method of pest control.

But building a market is not essential, and Landers encourages a DIY approach. "Even on a locavore hunting level we can make a difference as individuals," he says. "If you have a patch of reef that you dive once a week and spear every lionfish you see, then that is going to be a little oasis where the cleaner wrasse, a species threatened by lionfish, can survive, and fish from hundreds of miles away can come to have their parasites removed. That reef might be surrounded by a wasteland of lionfish, but as long as someone is taking personal responsibility for his reef, then you've got a place where some of these endangered species can survive."

The same thing works on dry ground, Landers says: Individuals hunting for their tables wiped out invading wild boar in parts of West Virginia. And got tasty meals to boot.

I think there's a lot to this approach. Too often, preserving the environment is seen as involving a great deal of sacrifice. But sometimes it can be as rewarding as eating lionfish sashimi. Which, take it from me, requires no personal sacrifice at all.

Meanwhile, I wonder if there isn't a larger lesson here. Life is full of problems, but often the solution isn't to attack them head-on, with big programs, but to find ways to let markets and individuals solve them on their own. Are there other problems out there that, with the right approach, could be turned into the equivalent of appetizing snacks? Perhaps we should look.

Glenn Reynolds is Popular Mechanics' resident contrarian, a longtime scuba diver and an enthusiastic omnivore. His weapons in the fight against invasive species: lime, hot sauce and a cold beer.

Colwyn Thomas

Lionfish Carpaccio

INGREDIENTS

3 large limes

3 tablespoons sugar

Liberal amount of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

As many capers as you like

Dash of Tabasco or other hot sauce (optional)

Lionfish

DIRECTIONS

Squeeze the limes and mix the juice with all the other ingredients except the fish. This mix will keep in the fridge, although the olive oil does go a little cloudy once refrigerated. With extreme care de-spine and fillet the lionfish. Slice the fillets as thinly as possible. Drizzle the sauce over the meat.

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